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Garden projects 'a teaching tool'
Schools part of thriving community network growing fruits, veggies
September 29, 2009
LESLIE FERENC, STAFF REPORTER Toronto Star
The old proverb "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day – teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" applies equally to gardening.
Helping those who need a hand up rather than a hand out is what FoodShare and its partners are doing through school and community garden programs across Toronto.
Policy-makers, city staff and community partners got a chance to see what's growing around town recently during the fifth annual tour of community food projects.
Organized by FoodShare, one of 200 United Way Toronto member agencies, as well as The Stop Community Food Centre, Afri-Can Food Basket and Toronto Public Health, the tour was a chance to showcase projects "on the ground," said Meredith Hayes, Field to Table Schools and youth program manager at FoodShare.
The Gordon Ridge community garden, one of the stops on the tour, is in one of the city's so-called "food deserts" – neighbourhoods where, for some, fresh veggies and fruits can be hard to put on the table.
The schools on the tour joined the growing garden network two years ago, which so far includes 25 schools that are producing bushels of organic vegetables and fruits.
The last stop was at the Waterfront Good Food Market, one of several run by community groups with FoodShare's help. The markets provide local residents with easy access to farm-fresh produce in areas where it may be expensive to buy or where there are no grocery stores.
"The community gardens and community kitchens started organically," Hayes said, adding that FoodShare got involved about 10 years ago and provides technical support and expertise.
Currently, more than 250 community gardens are busy producing food grown by volunteers for their own tables as well as for local agencies and community kitchens. "We know more are out there but they may not be part of the network yet," Hayes said.
And whether they've been set up in an unused part of the schoolyard or next to a housing complex, the gardens are thriving.
Produce from George Harvey Collegiate Institute is served as part of the breakfast program or preserved and later cooked up in the food and nutrition class. With the help of staff, kids at the high school's daycare centre tended the garden during the summer.
Not only are kids eating better, they're learning important life skills, said Hayes. "The garden is a great teaching tool."
Community gardens do much the same. An added bonus is that they break down social isolation, especially for newcomers. "Working in the garden helps people learn about each other," Hayes said.
And nothing brings people together better than food.
